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A shooting Monday following a Juneteenth celebration in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, left six teen victims injured, according to police.
Milwaukee police said thousands of people had gathered for a block party on North Martin Luther King Drive when an argument between several girls allegedly escalated into a shooting that left four women and two men — aged between 14 and 19 — with gunshot wounds. The victims were then taken to a hospital for treatment.
A video shared online shows the events leading up to the shooting, including several girls shoving each other in the street and dozens of people swarming the group when a teenager pulls out a gun and fires several bullets.
“There is no reason why a young person should have their hand on a gun. No reason at all. It is completely and totally unacceptable,” Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said at a press conference after the shooting.
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Milwaukee police responded to a shooting at approximately 4:21 p.m. on North Martin Luther King Drive. (Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)
Johnson, a Democrat, also described the shooting as a distraction from the unity observed moments earlier by members of the community.
“We had thousands and thousands of people here celebrating and pulling themselves together and having a sense of community. That’s a powerful thing. That’s the true story of what this day is,” he said.
The mayor suggested that the shooting could have been much worse as families had gathered for the block party.
“There were families here,” Johnson said. “There were children here. There were babies here.”
He added: “If you are an adult or a young person, you have a gun in your hands and you are in a bad mood, right? Don’t come to this kind of thing. Do not come. Get help you need.”
“You have no right to steal the joy this community felt,” the mayor continued passionately. “You have no right to endanger babies in this community. You have no right to endanger the men and women of this department and our partners at the Office of Violence Prevention because that’s where you want to go .” and being stupid with a gun, and that’s what it is, it’s stupidity.”
“Arguments should not lead to gun firing, period,” Johnson said.
“There used to be a time when when people had a fight, you just walked away or you could end the fight and leave it at that, or worse, get into a fistfight,” he said. “You don’t pull a gun and end someone’s life over something as simple and pointless as a minor disagreement, like an argument.”
Johnson added: “We’ve seen enough of it, too much of it, and it has to stop.”
Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman said the shooting occurred at approximately 4:21 p.m., “after the Juneteenth celebration where thousands in our community gathered peacefully.”
“Milwaukee, what’s wrong with our kids?” Chief Norman said in a plea to the city during the presser.
“Parents, guardians, elders, we must stand up and make sure that this violence that our children bring to these streets stops. No handgun, no weapon of destruction should be in the hands of our young people,” he also said.
The teens suffered non-fatal injuries, police said.
A preliminary investigation indicates that a 17-year-old man shot during the incident was also a gunman, police said, adding they are still looking for additional suspects.
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According to the police, the shooting may have been the result of an argument between several girls. (Milwaukee Police Department)
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“MPD asks that we all get better at resolving conflicts without resorting to gun violence,” added Norman.
This incident remains under investigation. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Milwaukee Police Department.
